Tarnished Gold and Perfect Shadows
by Guns and Tonic
Summary: After being sent to steal one of the biggest caches of gold in the country, Kaoru has been captured by one of the most dangerous assassins ever. Can he help her unleash the darkness in her heart and save those who were left behind in a war of greed?
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ruroni Kenshin or any of the characters that are mentioned from the Ruroni Kenshin series._

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**Tarnished Gold and Perfect Shadows**

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It had been decades ago that _Aureus Bellum_ had began. Back then, huge stores of gold and ore had been discovered in the _Caurus_ Mines.

_Vel iustus offendo ab istic patefacio cista de aurum pro sese_ – "Even the just may sin because there is an open chest of gold before him"

While other people were out gathering land for their crowns, some were searching for their own greatness. Four men, the '_Quattour Frater_' as they were called, had found it. They had found the greatest cache of gold on that side of the _Media versus_. This was the gold that would make them their own kings. It would make them richer than they could ever imagine, but their dreams of opulence had only lasted so long. Soon news had spread of the gold mines and people from all walks of the earth were traveling to the mines to try and get a piece of their own paradise.

Wary of the people coming after them, the _Quattour Frater _split the gold between themselves and hid it; leaving what little hadn't been dug up behind. When the tales of gold had finally reached the ears of their respective heads of state, they were found, taken in and interrogated as to the location of the moved gold. Though not all of _Quattour Frater _had been caught, most of the gold had been retrieved. In fact, all of it had been retrieved, except for one.

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The _Quattour Frater _had come from different parts of the world and they had met, as the story goes, in a bar in the Northern Quarter. Drunken and travel weary, they all shared stories in a language that had been without a name at the time. Now it was called _'Familiaris Lingua'_, the intimate language; for it joined all four of the clans by giving them something constant and unchanging. _Familiaris Lingua_ was what the 'World Law' was based on. That we as a people treat others in equality and with kinship for our language brings us together. Because in that aspect we are all the same.

These four strangers shared their dreams with one another. Day after day they met at the same bar and after a while they became close friends, bonding with one another as they had with no one else, for there was a strong sense of kinship among them; because they all had one common goal – to find gold.

The first of the brothers, Dhoruba, was from the clan of _Sol Solis_ to the south; where he was known throughout the nation for his strong character and intelligence. He was their finest philosopher. Born to a wealthy family, he had taken to being a philanthropist, helping others as he travelled. Though he was wealthy, there was not nearly enough resource to help those who needed it. So to save his people, Dhoruba went to the lands in the north in hopes that he would find gold.

Then there was Ahanu from the clan of _Animus secuutus_ to the west. He was known for his great instinct and his harmony with the earth. Everyone remembered him by the large colourful feather that he wore on his head and the wanderlust sparkling in his eyes. He had been honoured in his village as head chief of one of the biggest tribes in his nation, but he turned down his position to go after the gold that he had heard about so much on his travels outside of his country.

Katsuo, from the clan of _Flumen Aduro_ to the east, was a great scientist. He was highly educated and competed with the minds of the most respected peoples of his nation. But though Katsuo was great, he was a commoner and thus had no influence. What he had worked so hard his whole life for, meant nothing unless he had the respect of his peers. Thus he went to discover the thing that brought all men respect - gold.

The last of the brothers was named Adeodatus. He was from the clan of _Niveus Manuum_ to the north. Adeodatus was a great architect and a renowned wooer of women; his blue eyes attracted women of many lands. He was a great seducer. But aside from all of his personal ventures, he was also responsible for some of the most beautiful and architecturally genius buildings ever known to the northern civilization. Adeodatus though, was short one thing – his own home. Though he was well off, Adeodatus was never satisfied with what he had. He never had enough; and certainly not enough to build the great home that he wanted. So, the notorious Casanova made his way further north searching for untouched land and untouched gold.

Together these four men had found the _Aureus de Caurus_ and together they had single-handedly began the largest gold hunt in the history of the world. Gold fever hit the four clans and the bonds of the peace law were strained. In the resulting siege at _Caurus_, two of the brothers were captured; they had come back to try to find more gold. Ahanu and Katsuo, after weeks of prodding and torture, had given up the locations of their gold deposits to the government of the _Niveus Manuum_ clan, who had kept them imprisoned for another three years until the gold was found.

Dhoruba's gold had been found not long after that by his government. He had given them the location after he had come out of hiding – for they were all convicts in their lands. But Dhoruba had faith in his clan. They would help the people who so desperately needed. Those naïve hopes that the clan would help the people were shattered though, when he had found out that the gold had been dealt among the rich in his country. In an action of pure sorrow and hurt at his country's false interest for the people of his land, Loving Dhoruba committed suicide. And only Adeodatus was left.

The last brother alive, Adeodatus went into hiding. His gold was never found. The "Great" Adeodatus spent the rest of his life living in the caves and hollows of the _Silva de Forlandi_. Feeling that this was god's retribution for his greed, Adeodatus chose to become a healer. He started with a new mission. He began to plant seeds. It was his effort to replace and renew all the trees he had destroyed to build the houses and structures that he now realized weren't worth their greatness for their destruction. Eventually though, as all things must, Adeodatus had died; leaving nothing behind but his body, his journal, his forest and a longing for his secrets.

When his remains were finally found years later, his tunic holding the emblem of the great architects of _Niveus Manuum_, he was given a great ceremony honouring his trials. He was called '_Adeodatus Sanctus Unus_' for he wrote of his change in life on the walls of his caves. The prayers he had written in his book, the only worldly thing he had left had become national prayers said only in the most sanctified of places.

The _Aurum de Quattour Frater _was named after each of the men who had found it that fateful day in the mines of _Caurus_. _Dhoruba de Aurum, Ahanu de Aurum, Katsuo de Aurum,_ and _Adeodatus de Aurum_ – Adeodatus' Gold.

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The _Aureus Bellum_ had began in the year 2000, when the government in a last ditch effort, had formed criminal sects to go about and find the gold in ways that they could not publically support. One of those sects dealt with paranormals. Though many did not acknowledge it, there were supernatural elements to the world that were invaluable and could be very, very useful if manipulated correctly. Every once in a while, someone would be born with abilities that surpassed those of normal beings, these people were called the _Infectus_. Some could see into time, others were unnaturally strong and some had mental and intellectual abilities that even the great philosophers would envy. The government had made a force especially for the collection of these people, to help them find what was not but a fable anymore; The Adeodatus de Aurum. This political faction was called The _Luminis de Umbra_, The Eye of the Shadow.

She was in trouble. They were after her.

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Translations

_Quattour Frater– Four Brothers_

_Aureus Bellum – The Golden War_

_Media versus – Middle Line_

_Caurus – The northern wind (Mines of the northern wind)_

_Sol Solis – The Sun_

_Animus secuutus – Spirit Followers_

_Flumen Aduro – River Singers_

_Niveus Manuum – White hands_

_Silva de Forlandi – Forlandi Forest_

_Adeodatus Sanctus Unus – Adeodatus the Holy One_

_Aurum de Quattour Frater– Four Brother's Gold_

_Infectus _– _Corrupted_

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AN:

Having a beta is pretty spiffy…

That's all I have to say. You know who you are beta.

Otherwise: I hope you had a great time reading this chapter and getting some background on the story. Yes it is an AU. Guys I hope you loved this chapter and I hope you stay tuned for more. Love you guys.

PS: If anyone noticed – yes, I switched some chapters around. Actually, just this one. I have now made this chapter the first. The story continues in the same order as it had before, the history is now just the first chapter as I should've had it.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. Keep it up. It makes me write faster. Lol.

R&R.

_~~G&T~~_


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ruroni Kenshin or any of the characters that are mentioned from the Ruroni Kenshin series._

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**Tarnished Gold and Perfect Shadows**

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"HAPPY NEW YEARS!" Crowds screamed in merriment of the season. People laughed, made out, partied and followed their new routines in hopes to change for the better, to become new people and to birth new lives out of the old ones.

But on the other side of town it was different.

Under the sounds of the explosions and celebrations of the New Year, there was death.

All she could hear was the blood pounding in her veins. This had never happened before. She had been trained since she was the age of fifteen, too old for many to learn, but she had been tough and she had survived all that had been done to her. She had survived. But now, she wasn't so sure that she would live through the night.

Kaoru ran down another hall, careful to avoid the directions from which she heard those horrible screams come. She just had to get out alive, she just had to. The stone floors around her seemed to go on forever. Decades of no use left a dank smell along the walls of the old castle home and her bare feet felt chilled against the aged rock. She had to wonder if she would die in this building. Would the last thing she experience be the coldness of this hard stone? She couldn't stand the thought that this would be her end. She couldn't.

And then she felt him. The hairs on her neck stood in alarm and a chill went down her spine. He was here and he was close. Denial coursed through her. He couldn't stop her. Not now. She had to live so she could save Yahiko; she had to get him out of that hell hole.

The large window at the end of the hall shattered and Kaoru willed herself to go further, willed her agile body to push past the pain that she felt as she transformed. The ground came at a blinding speed as she glided along past the fifth floor window. She could only hope to survive the fall in this form; as a human she would surely die. But maybe, just maybe, in this form she might live. That hope was the only thing she had left, she had to make it.

Kaoru braced herself as she soared past the second floor, but as she fell in the light of the moon she saw him, his reflection. A dark shadow that was almost as large as the huge windows that gleamed as she soared past them. He was right behind her; it was as if she were cloaked in his essence. He was the thing of nightmares. A beautiful darkness. And those eyes… those piercing gold eyes.

THUMP.

She hit the ground. Hard. Hearing the sound of her shoulder breaking out of place was almost as terrible as the excruciating horror of the pain that she felt at that moment. A hideous cry left her throat. '_Oh God it hurts! It hurts!!' _ She couldn't breathe from the pain and just at the edge of her consciousness she could feel the blackness coming. She had to go!

Kaoru didn't know how she had done it, but she started running. Balancing on her left leg she ran, her hind legs pushing as hard as they could to move her body out of danger's way. She glanced at the damage done. Her right shoulder, hell her whole right foreleg was torn to shit and it hung limply, twisted into magnificent proportions at her side. Nausea rolled in her stomach and her throat burned as bile worked its way up her esophagus. The pain was indescribable. She knew that soon she would fall. Kaoru doubted that she could make it even another ten feet. Her chest ached horribly and less and less air was making it into her lungs. The trees that she passed now all looked the same, and she couldn't tell if she was running in the right direction any longer.

Lacking the strength to go further, she fell against an old oak tree. She had hoped that she could make it farther than she had, but in the end she had only made it about a few hundred yards away from the old mansion. Blood soaked her fur where her shoulder bone protruded from her flesh and her breath was now coming in pained gasps. _'I'm sorry Yahiko. I didn't save you. I couldn't save you.' _The darkness was beginning to overwhelm her.

"Close your eyes little one."

She felt a hand smooth out her forehead and close over her eyes. Gentle fingers rubbed her neck and softly move down to her mangled foreleg. She growled but it was no use, it came out as nothing more than a pained whimper and soon she was too tired to even care. The hands were taking away the pain. _'Is this how death feels?' _She fell deeper into the darkness. _'It's so peaceful. Yahiko, it's so peaceful. I don't want to go back. I'm so tired Yahiko. I'm just so tired. Forgive me. Please forgive me.' _Kaoru fell asleep with dreams of eyes of liquid amber and hair like red flames.

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_Save me from my perfect shadow._

_I can't help but feel unease._

_Only your light can chase my darkness_

_Cure me of this sick disease._

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Hi guys!! This is the first chapter of my new story.

R&R! I hope you like!


	3. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ruroni Kenshin or any of the characters that are mentioned from the Ruroni Kenshin series._

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**Tarnished Gold and Perfect Shadows**

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Kaoru awoke suddenly. Panic hitting in her chest like drums. She tried to get up but ended up falling to the ground, her body clasped in pain. She let out a yelp that was immediately covered up by a hand closing down over her muzzle. Terror washed over her. Confusion piled like smoke in her mind. What was going on?

"Keep quiet." A voice whispered into her ear. The hair on her neck stood up, but her attention was swayed to the voices of men shouting a few yards away. They stayed there for about twenty minutes, she and her unknown shadow, waiting for the men to leave. "I will be right back. Do not move."

She didn't see him leave. In fact, she hadn't seen him at all. She had only felt his presence, and even that was only because of his touch. She knew she couldn't move. Though the pain wasn't as devastating as it had been before she had passed out, it was still enough to make her nauseous and tearful.

The sun beat down on her heavily now that he had left what was apparently their hiding spot; though it really didn't look like you could hide anywhere in the little corner anyway. The open shed only had two walls, but she guessed he had somehow made them less noticeable. It was an old, dilapidated shack, overrun with overgrown vines and weeds and wood that was rotten and hollow.

"Come on." Kaoru jumped. Was he going to keep doing that? She felt him touch her again. Queasiness took over her stomach. What was going on? The space around her turned to grey mist and it wavered with a frightening darkness that she couldn't describe. She felt weightless. Where was this wind blowing against her fur coming from? It almost felt like she was flying, but suddenly she wasn't and like lead she fell crashing into a cloud of underbrush.

She heard the soft curses even as she yowled in pain. "Shit." His footsteps sounded on the forest ground. "I'm sorry." And she saw him for the first time. His golden eyes pierced her and his red hair shone like a flag in the green of the forest as he moved silently towards her. "I'm sorry." He looked at her with a vagueness that belied his words. "I have to carry you."

Kaoru was startled when he picked her up. She had almost snapped at him, but it would be against her better judgment to do so. She had no doubt that he would kill her should she retaliate and she was in too much pain to do anything anyway.

After an hour or so they finally made it through the miles and miles of large trees to an outlying shore. He trekked through the brush on the edge of the forest and the rock laden shore to a small haphazardly formed cave – if it could be called that. It was big enough for them both to somehow get in, but so weirdly formed that it almost didn't look like it had an opening at all and as such was more than a hassle to enter. Hidden under forestry hundreds of years old, it would be completely unseen to one passing over the stone plateau that covered most of the forest ground in the Forandi Woodland.

Her golden-eyed captor went further into the low-lying hole. It was deep and though it had a sharp incline at the entrance, the rest of the ground was smooth, mostly even and shaded from most of the sun. It was probably formed from beneath by the rough waves of the sea digging below the island, and as they went further into the darkness, she realized that she was right. It was an underground cave system. How many people knew about this place? It would make even the hardest man gawk in wander at its magnificence.

He laid her down just past the dimness where the last bit of light disappeared. "You have to change back." He stared at her, his eyes as piercing as ever. She didn't move. "I cannot heal you anymore than what has been done. You will die soon. I know a healer. She can help you but you must be in your human form, not only for her to heal you, but for me to transport you." He looked at the destruction wrought on her foreleg. "As you can see from previous endeavors, I cannot keep hold of you while you are in that form, it will only result in your death if I try again."

She still didn't move. "You can die here or you can live. It is your choice. It bears no consequence on me." He turned and went to sit closer to the entrance.

Kaoru was hesitant to begin her transformation. Not only would it hurt, but with her present wounds it would be hell. She was sure she would die if she went through with it. He had to know that it wouldn't be easy; what it would cost her. But he had said that it was the only way for her to get out alive. She was scared, scared shitless, but it was the only way.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, seeing herself change in her mind. It started happening. She could hear her bones cracking and reforming and the sickness she usually felt when she transformed came three-fold. She felt the hair pull back into her skin, stinging her pores as they pushed their way back under her epidermis. Her jaw broke, and reformed itself; bones shattering and coming back together tissue strand by tissue strand. And as soon as her voice began working again, she began screaming.

Her loud inhuman screeches made the young man turn and watch her with curious eyes, but she couldn't pay attention. Her spine had begun to re-align, the vertebrae popping in and out of place one by one and taking her tail along with them, punishing the bone at the small of her back and at the dip where her buttocks formed. She started to retch as her knees popped out of place and the bones in her paws changed; hands and feet twisting like they belonged to an arthritic patient. Kaoru writhed, breathing in fast gasps as the worst pain came around. Her broken foreleg slowly changed, each broken and splintered bone breaking and forming, coming together in a pain just as bad as or worse than when she had first gotten the wound. She let out an angry cry, shaking on the floor as she gagged and sobbed; and the first tears she had shed from the day before fell.

Topaz eyes wondered over the naked form in the dimness of the cave. He could see the shivering of her muscles and the clenching in her stomach as she fought for air. He had heard of how cruel the transformation that the _were_'s underwent was, but he had never before seen it happen with his eyes. _Were_'s were fairytales in this land. It had been said that the last of them had died out hundreds of years before, but then how could this be happening. How had he found this mystical creature before him; the _were_ with eyes just like his own? Feral and a golden yellow so bright it rivaled the finest of whiskeys.

His owned stomach had unsettled as he watched her make the change. He watched as her legs popped out of the sockets in her pelvis and thickened out into thighs as pale as the moon and as smooth as the water shaped rock further down in the cave. Where once there had been a strong chest, her ribs had broken inwards and her skin swelled and smoothed out to form her breasts. Her collar bone was broken and it stuck out at an odd angle; her neck whipped as it straightened out into the form of a human's. He didn't usually feel, period; much less feel for the people he knew, but he felt for her. It obviously hurt a hell of a lot more than anything he had or would ever experience in his life. Or so he thought.

He had to get her help. Though he had stopped the bleeding last night, the wound had started bleeding once more as the bone had pierced her new flesh in the transformation. He got up and walked over to her still shaking body. She quaked as if she were having the symptoms of a seizure. Touching her softly on her head, he silently skimmed his fingers through her dark locks of hair. It was a black so dark he questioned the night as to if it was really the color it claimed to be. Surely it couldn't be, for he had seen black now and the night was nothing more than a shade of grey compared to this woman's mass of silky hair. "It's okay little one. No more harm will come to you. I promise."

Kaoru felt the soothing of his fingers and opened her eyes. She heard him gasp but paid no attention as she tried to focus on her professed guardian. She felt so weak. It had taken everything she had to change back. Now her head spun with an unending dizziness and she could barely breath other than the wheezing gasps she was still making. She hated to be unclothed like this in front of a stranger but she could no more help herself than a baby could help itself supply food. He was all she had right now and she prayed that he wouldn't let her down.

He stared at her. Her eyes were a blue so pretty that to call them so meager a colour would be wrong. They were a cerulean so deep that he thought they challenged the sea for its title. What a strange colour for a _River Singer _to possess. Her cheeks coloured under his scrutiny and she looked to the ground to avoid what she thought she would eventually see. He stood abruptly, automatically taking off his black coat and wrapping it around her body. "Here, I will take you to Sonada-san now. She will be able to help you." He lifted her into his arms as careful as he could be about touching her shattered arm. She gasped and tried not to respond to the hot sensations running up and down her body in agony. Her nerves were on fire and her flesh was as sore as it had ever been. Every movement of her body was painful torture.

She breathed in sharply. "What… what is your… your name?"

He looked at her; glimmering eyes taking in the pain on her face. "Battousai." He watched as she contemplated his name. Slightly nodding her head and putting it away for further reference. "And yours?"

She looked a little startled. Turning her gaze away from him and burying her face in the cloth on his shoulder, she said softly "It… It's Kaoru. Kamiya Kaoru."

He gave a short sound of acceptance. "Hold on."

Before she catch on to what he had said, the queasiness came again and the space around her dimmed into darkness. Again the feeling of flight took place, but this time she didn't fall. She just floated. The wind was pleasant on her aching body. She didn't think any sensation other than pain would grab her attention, but she felt light in the shadows around her, like she was on a cloud. It ended all too suddenly though and they hit the floor of a kitchen room. The Battousai held her steady, the landing not fazing him at all.

He walked out of the small open room and into a hallway. Knocking on the door at the end of the hall, he waited. A few seconds later a woman came out. Her large brown eyes levered an inquisitive glance at him and then she stepped aside to let him into the small area.

"Put her on the bed."

Kaoru felt herself fading as he moved to rest her on the soft mattress that was in the center of the medical room. She could feel the strong but deliberately gentle footsteps that he took and wondered at his unfathomably conflicting behaviour.

"Out."

She watched him leave, and whimpered as she felt the last of her energy leaving her. Her eyelids were struggling to stay open. She tried to focus on the woman whom she assumed was Sonada. After the door closed, there was a slight shuffling noise and soon the woman was next to her.

"What happened?"

Kaoru's eyes widened slightly at the rough rasping sound of the older woman's voice. She tried to clear her vision and pay attention, but it was becoming harder to do. What had she said just now? "Hunh?"

A hand carefully moved the coat from around her body. "I said, what happened?"

Kaoru stared at the strange scar going across her neck for a second before moving her eyes back to the soft round face surrounded by hair the color of a field mouse's hide. She answered in the soft strangled tones that seemed to be all that her voice box could produce at the moment. "I fell five stories down a building."

Sonada gasped. "And you're alive? You must be lucky." She took note of the damage done to Kaoru's arm and shoulder, carefully prodding and testing the injured flesh and bone on her body. "Really lucky."

Kaoru grimaced as her collarbone shifted when she sank deeper into the mattress. "It hurts."

Sonada looked over the girl in sympathy. Most of her was bruised so badly that she couldn't tell her original skin colour apart from the colour of the bruises. All of the bruises weren't from the fall though. She could tell. Some were more recent just turning that bruised purple colour, and others weren't. The faded yellow and green bruises on her sides, she had received before she had even thought of falling down that building. There were finger-shaped marks splayed on the outside of her ribcage and if she turned onto her stomach, she would probably see them on her back too. _Someone hurt this girl._She wanted to ask what had happened to cause the other bruises but that was not what she was there for. The Battousai had brought this girl to her to be healed, nothing more. _Focus on the task at hand._

"Close your eyes." She watched as the young girl's pretty blue eyes closed. "This might hurt a little, but it will feel much better afterwards."

Kaoru did as she was told and immediately her body shuddered, clenching and unclenching in spasms of pain. _Agony_. She screamed silently, clutching her left hand to her chest as her muscles cramped from the strain. Tears fell over her cheeks and disappeared into the hair at her temples. Her body bowed, trembling with a brute force as it compacted and folded in on itself. And then suddenly, it stopped. Just as soon as it had started, it had finished.

Her body fell, loose and boneless to the mattress. Her skin was hot and damp with sweat. Laboured breaths pulled at her lungs and she gulped in the air like a fish, trying to supply her body with the needed oxygen. Soon she calmed and her throaty gasps quieted. Exhaustion grabbed at her, making her feel lethargic and eating away her self-consciousness and her willingness to stay awake and watch.

At last, Kaoru fell asleep. And for the first time, she was content to dwell in the shadows of her mind for however long her body needed.

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Hello Everyone! Sorry for this guys. I had actually given up on this story for awhile, but I've decided, that I will edit instead. :D

I'm taking Chapter 3 and 4 ,re-writing everything, and changing the plot a little. Thanks for the reviews, I hope I can continually update and make you guys happy. Gomen!

I know nobody likes a slow author. So I'll try my best to update as soon as I can and to keep the story going.


	4. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ruroni Kenshin or any of the characters that are mentioned from the Ruroni Kenshin series._

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**Tarnished Gold and Perfect Shadows**

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"_You stupid bitch! I said come here!" _

Dark eyes opened slowly, blinking away the week's sleep and the remnants of a familiar nightmare, and then instantly becoming confused. Kaoru pitched up in her bed. Her panting breath echoed in the empty room like an alarm in her ears. 'Where am I?' She looked around the room, ignoring the ache in her body as she had done many times before. She strained her ears, listening to the sounds in the strange room. Her nose flared as the scent of incense infiltrated her nasal cavities, disorienting her and making her nauseous.

Why in kami's name were they burning that incense? She had to get out of this place. What was the last thing that she could remember? 'Yes!' She had broken her foreleg. That man had brought her to be healed. Was this the same place? She ripped out the IV line that was taped to the inside of her elbow and then slowly lifted the sheets that were tangled around her sweat drenched body and looked in awe at her healed limb.

'I'm Okay.' She rolled her shoulder testing its range of movement. Everything was working just as it had. That was good right?

"Good Morning Kaoru."

Kaoru's heart pounded as she yanked the thin sheet up over her breasts. She looked up, searching for the strange man who had saved her. Panic made goose bumps raise on her arms and her body went on alert. She sat stock still in the dark, windowless room, her eyes looking for any clue as to where the voice had come from, ignoring the burn that the putrid incense was causing in her eyes. "Where are you?" she whispered. She scented the air, but the incense was just too overwhelming for her to smell anything, especially with her human nose.

It took another few minutes for her to see the glowing yellow eyes in the corner of the room. Her heart skipped a beat as fear rose in her throat. Why was he just standing there like that? He looked predatory, like he would attack her if she moved and she felt a shiver go down her spine. Her _were_ was reacting to him, subtly challenging. She felt her lips pulling back, and the urge to snarl at him caught her by surprise. How could she feel so threatened by just looking into his eyes?

"Be still little one. You have no reason to fear me at the moment." He came out of the shadows and into the dim and almost non-existent light that shone from under the door. "I need to speak to you."

"Ok." Her whispered answer floated in the air between them.

He took his time, sitting in the chair across from the bed, drawing out her tension. "I find this situation very peculiar little Kaoru." He crossed his arms and laid his right ankle on his left knee, the picture of a brooding man in his dark shirt and slacks. "Tell me, how are only you able to find what everyone seeks?"

She looked up at him, her blue eyes vivid in the darkness. She may not have been able to see as well in the dark in her human form, but he could see perfectly. He was a shadow walker. He was born into the darkness, able to manipulate it so effectively, that he was one of the most dangerous and efficient assassins known to the underworld in the Seiki Territories. And she, she was his prey.

"What…what are you talking about?"

"Shall I tell you Miss Kaoru, of what you already know?"

"I don't know anything."

The Battousai stood, all of his movements liquid silk. And then he was at her ear and she swore that she had seen the darkness flow off of him in a lingering inky trail. "You are lying." he whispered and his hand locked around her throat. "Be aware Kaoru, that I do not tolerate dishonesty. Do not mistake my earlier actions for kindness. They were only what needed to be done to keep you alive so that I could use you."

Kaoru pulled at his arm, fighting in panicked frenzy to get him off of her. "Please…" she begged, looking into his emotionless eyes, and hoping for him to release her.

His hand tightened for a few seconds and then as if making up his mind, he let go and watched her as she fell to the bed gasping for air.

"Cover yourself." He motioned to the bundle of clothing on the edge of the bed. "Sonada will meet you in ten minutes."

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The kitchen was beautiful. Airy in a homey sort of way. White curtains hung to frame wooden box windows. There was lots of sunlight and it poured in to warm her skin and shine prettily on the circular wooden table that they were all sitting at.

Kaoru cautiously looked across the table to where the Battousai sat. It wasn't twenty minutes ago that he had been strangling her, and now here he was sitting and eating as if he was born into civility.

She could be stubborn and retaliate by not eating, but to be honest, she was way too hungry to deny any food on her plate. She glanced and the last piece of bacon on her plate and unknowingly whimpered.

"Are you still hungry Miss Kaoru?" she shook her head. "Of course you are. You have been sleeping for about a week now, you must be very hungry."

Sonada got up and walked back into the kitchen. "I put a steak on. I wasn't sure if what you have would be enough. The Battousai told me that you might have a large appetite." She strained to speak loudly in that scratchy voice of hers from the kitchen.

Kaoru stared at the Battousai. He had told her that? Well wasn't he a walking contradiction.

"It's still not fully cooked through."

"That's all right" Kaoru shouted back, mouth twitching in anticipation. It had been a long time since she had had anything so grand, and especially one that still had blood in it. She heard her stomach rumble and had the decency to blush and look away.

"Eat all you can now little Kaoru. It may very well be the last you have for a while."

That got her attention. "What do you mean?" Sonada walked out.

"Eat" was all he said.

The white plate with its blossom decorated edges came to rest on the table in front of her and she stared at the inch-thick red meat for a few seconds before doing as she was told.

It had been about twenty minutes since they all had finished eating. They were still sitting at the table. Still silent; and Sonada apparently had been handed the chore of conversing with her; though it did seem as though she was still wondering how to handle it. She was wringing her hands together as if she were nervous.

"Ok." She stopped and looked at Karou. "We want to know why you came to this forest. And tell the truth only Miss Kaoru. The Battousai isn't as patient as I am.

"I…" She turned her head away.

"Look at me Miss Kaoru." Sonada grabbed her chin and turned it towards her. "Tell me the truth." Her brain told her to retaliate, that submission was no longer an option for her. Hadn't she already faced death and overcome it? But then again, she didn't think that she could overcome _him_. She glanced at the Battousai and immediately looked back to her current captor.

'I'll tell you the truth." She tried to shove at the older woman's hand. "But let me go."

"No, just speak" she rasped.

Kaoru sighed. "Ok. Ok. I'll- I'll tell you." She paused.

"Go on."

"I was in the forest because I knew that for some reason, they wanted to be here."

"Who are you talking about? Who are they?"

"The Eye."

Sonada's eyes widened and for a split second her gaze shifted to the Battousai's. "What do they want?"

"They want me to find something."

"Stop giving me short answers. Explain!"

Kaoru winced as her fingers dug into her chin. "Sorry, Sorry. I… They- They want some gold. They said that I should be able to find it, but I have no idea what they are talking about. They say that I should, but I've been secluded most of my life, I have no idea what anyone is talking about."

The trembling in her voice caused Sonada to lessen the pressure of her hold.

"Miss Kaoru, look at me." She did. "How did you know to come here?"

"They kept talking about this place. I remembered the mansion from one of my father's visions."

Confusion. 'What?' "What are you talking about? What do you mean visions?"

"I… we…" She swallowed. "_Weres_, we can… well… we can see past visions. I don't know how to explain it, but… I guess…"

Sonada let go of her chin. "Go on, but look at me only."

Slender fingers rubbed at her chin as she spoke again. "I guess it's kind of – kind of like transference. I could touch my father, and we could share thoughts, visions. He had shown me the mansion in one of those visions." Kaoru looked away.

"Why were you with them? Why did you run?" The dumfounded look that she got surprised her.

"What do you mean?" A scowl spread on her face. "Why would I stay? What do you think I am? They did… They- They were bad people." She stopped speaking and turned away again. Swallowing, she continued. "Anyway… I didn't want to be there is all. Wherever there is." Blue eyes locked onto hers. "They killed my father." Again her strong voice trembled. "They killed him and kidnapped me. I… I had to get away. I heard them talking about this gold, talking about this forest being where that man had died, talking about how it must be close, and I just… I just wanted to get away."

Kaoru looked at the Battousai and wiped at the tears falling from her eyes with the heel of her palm. "I knew I had a better chance of doing that in this forest, so I- I came here. I just wanted to get a- away. That's all."

There was an awkward silence for a while, and then he stood. "Sonada take her to the bath. I will be back."

"Yes Battousai."

He left in a storm of black cloth and the scent of wood shavings.

"Come." Sonada's hand grabbed at her shoulder. "The bath is out back."

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The steam made her feel sleepy. She hadn't had a real bath in so long. She had cried for a few minutes when she had gotten into the hot spring, because though she was still held captive, she had more than before.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Sonada laid her head on the smoothed rock next to her own; her short light-brown hair lying limply on her cheek as she faced Kaoru. She had been thinking about the girl for a while; wondering what had to be going on behind the barriers that she had resurrected so well, that they didn't seem like barriers at all. There had to be more that she hadn't said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean those bruises."

"I told you, I fell down a building."

"There are other bruises Miss Kaoru; older ones."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Then why are you looking away? You cannot lie to me Miss Kaoru. I can tell when you are lying."

"Leave me be." Her blue eyes glimmered with annoyance. "I can't do this. Not now, not here, not with you. I don't even know you."

"If you want I can leave it for now, but you will tell me."

"No I won't. There are just some things that can't be said." Kaoru got up and waded further into the spring. "You can't understand what I… what they…" Her fists clenched and she stared at Sonada. "You can't understand." A bitter smirk twitched on her lips.

"Miss Kaoru, you are not the only one to face hardship. We all have. Don't be so presumptuous." She pushed the hair away from her neck, exposing the long diagonal scar on her neck. "I almost died from this attack. Lucky me, I can still speak right?" She chuckled but there was no feeling to it at all. "Apparently the only way a seer is tolerated is if she is dead, or in a cage; they obviously couldn't find a cage for me. I… If…" She gritted her teeth. "Freedom has a cost for all of us Miss Kaoru. You are not the only one."

"Freedom? I haven't known freedom, so don't tell me what it costs. I haven't known ANYTHING but suffering, so don't compare us." She reached for a towel and climbed out of the spring. "I wish for death Sonada-san. I have wished for it so much, that… it didn't even matter to me anymore. I just existed. My only reason for life now is a little boy who I… I can't even find." She lifted her shoulders in helpless gesture.

"I am grateful for all that you have done, but I won't be any more forthcoming than I am now. I'm sorry."

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Yay! Update! Sorry sorry sorry for the horribly long wait. Ive been sooo packed with work and stress – college student. Its been a really busy busy busy time for me. I'm so sorry. But now that the story is back on track I plan to update at least every two weeks. Hopefully before that. Thanks guys! Oh and I rushed to put this up so … I might revise a little. Again sorry .

I sooooooooo love you guys! FORGIVE ME!

R&R – It makes me update!


	5. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ruroni Kenshin or any of the characters that are mentioned from the Ruroni Kenshin series._

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Tarnished Gold and Perfect Shadows

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Her emotions were running wild and she could feel her _wolf_ starting to anger. They had left her trapped in the bedroom for two days now. For the last few hours now she had been pacing back and forth, back and forth. There was nothing that she could do. It seemed that the room was warded. That wench had locked her in here; inside this dank room filled with incense. She now knew why too. They were trying to throw off her senses, but from what? What were they hiding from her? Didn't they know that this scent would drive her crazy? Kaoru's hands fisted in her hair as she left to try the door again.

"Let me out of here!" She thrashed and screamed! "Let me out!" Her jaw started to pop and break as her wolf took over and she begun the change.

Kaoru sprung up and looked around in panic.

"You need to get up."

"Huh?" Her eyes locked on the Battousai's form.

"It is almost dawn. You need to get up."

"Are you going to tell me where we are going now?" Kaoru stumbled to her feet brushing the damp earth from the old pair of jeans that Sonada had given to her and tried to shake off the effects of her latest dream. They had been walking for three days now. Too long in her opinion.

"…"

"Hello?"

"You have, for the moment, all of the information that you will need to perform."

"… So you won't tell me?"

"…"

Kaoru sighed and walked on silently. Hours later he stopped, holding his hand out so that she froze immediately.

The Battousai let off three short bursts of shrill sound. She supposed that it was some type of bird call, but later realized that it was some sort of signal - as after a few seconds, the same call sounded back at them from somewhere in the distance.

The call rang again, this time closer. The hair on the back of her neck stood on edge as the call rang one again, this time behind them. She turned towards the sound and then back to look at the Battousai.

"Wha… Ah!" In front of her stood a demon. He had to be. What else could move so silently, so fast - was so large?

"Hello Precious." He whispered into her ear in a voice deeper than any she had ever heard. Large fangs were set in a horned white demon mask, that she could hear him breathing behind, but only because he let her hear him, she had no doubt. He sniffed her and glanced at the Battousai. "Mmmm, Hitokiri, have you brought me a treat? She smells delicious." He turned his attention back to her.

"I have come with a proposition for your Okashira."

"A proposition…" The demon kept his eyes on Kaoru, touched the hair of her bangs. "Hmm… "

Kaoru growled; a low warning sound vibrating in her chest.

"Does this one come free Hitokiri? She would make a good bedmate. Angry and passionate. I also see that she is unwilling. No deterrent," he cackled. "it will only make it all the more fun." He looked at him now. "Or have you marked her as your own?" He continued to speak. "I would have many a use for one such as this." He scented the air. "I can sense the feral in her."

Her teeth were bared.

"She won't be touched by another. I suggest that you remove your hand demon. I will only tolerate so much."

As he moved away the man gave a deep guffaw. "Yes Hitokiri, you have been very tolerant, maybe your proposition is worth the hearing. I am interested in finding out what you have planned for this one." He turned away from them, walking in the gait of someone confident in their safety, not perturbed by the Battousai's presence at all. "Travel west for a day. I will return with my master's will." And with that, he disappeared.

Kaoru turned only to see said hitokiri walking away. She hurried to catch up with him. "Who was that?"

He ignored her.

Temper flaring, Kaoru grumbled under her breath. "Idiot."

He stopped and met her with an arched eyebrow.

She looked away quickly, grumbling again as he continued his trek.

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They had walked another three hours journey before he decided to take a break for her sake. She was sweating, panting and thoroughly disheveled. He stopped by a small river and sat on a fallen log. Opening the bag that he'd been carrying on his back, he pulled out a piece of flint and used it to start a small fire.

"You can bathe in the river. I will find us something to eat." He paused. "Do not leave this area. I would not be happy were you to be gone when I returned." His golden eyed glare landed on her and she knew that she would not have the guts to run even if she knew where to. "We will discuss the situation later. If only to impede the tedium of your questions."

She ground her teeth with frustration as he left. He was impossible to deal with. Impossible! "…impede the tedium of your questions." She mocked him as she cautiously undressed. She gave the air a precursory sniff to make sure that no one was around and quickly shucked her jeans. She hadn't had a bath in days, hadn't had real food in days either. The loaf of bread and fruit preserves that they had packed had been nothing but a pain to eat. She was starving; craving meat to fill the hunger in belly. The urge to change was getting stronger. Her wolf didn't like to wait.

She toed the cool stream water, and a slight shiver went up her spine. The water, about waist-high at its deepest point, was just what she needed. Submerging herself, she let the slow pull of the river lull her, only coming up for air after she couldn't hold her breath anymore.

Now she had to hurry. She didn't want the Him to come back and catch her in any state of undress. He had already seen her body one too many times for her comfort. She scented the air again. Nothing new. She waded over to the shallow waters and grabbed the bar of soap that she had brought along for this same occasion. Nothing wrong with being prepared.

In the forest downwind, the Battousai was hunting. An easy task. He had already killed two rabbits and had just finish setting his last trap. He wasn't sure how much Kaoru would eat, and she would need the food more than he did. She hadn't eaten for a long while and he could see the strain it was causing on her body. Already she had lost what little extra weight she had had, if there ever was any to begin with. She had been with them for two weeks since he had found her. After the second, he wagered that she had recovered enough strength to make the journey to Oniwaban's lair. They were a rogue group of former government spies, with even older forgotten ties to the _Eye of Shadows. _

The last trap went off with a silent snap. Today he'd let the traps work, he wouldn't enjoy the physical act of the hunt until it was necessary. He could still feel the fear rolling off of the small fox that had fallen into the trap. It's frantic panic was enough to give him strength, he who fed off of fear. He closed his eyes in a rare moment of indulgence. Knowing that hunting would be dangerous. The fear, it was so intoxicating. So delicious, so delirious. Which was why, he noted, he had to be careful around little Kaoru. He was used to fear. Used to tamping down the emotions it brought out in him; suppressing the urge to bask in the pleasure that he got from it. She was afraid of him, but she was also curious.

It was alluring, calling for him to challenge her, to make her his prey. Show her what she wanted to know, wanted to find out. Scare her into submission. It was something new to him. He never really bothered with women. He was a man, yes. He had urges, needs; and he saw to them regularly, but for the first time, he felt himself somewhat affected. You see, even though she feared him, her first response was to fight, and he could feel her about to act out at times and then suppressing her compulsion to attack in what he could only guess were her human survival instincts kicking in. It was a smart move, but still interesting to watch.

He circled back to their temporary camp securing the perimeter as he did when he had first left, stopping short only when he was a few feet away from the small clearing. Kaoru was naked. She was rinsing her hair. Bent at the waist and washing out the thick curls at the nape of her neck. Normally the sight of an unclad woman didn't bother him and even now, he felt naught but the slight arousal that came only because at his basest function, in his most primal form – he was still a man, he took pleasure in the female form. But he couldn't take his eyes off of the long lines of angry ridged flesh that ran down her back. Scars. Wicked, ugly scars. Scars that didn't leave a single patch of skin untouched. He hadn't taken note of them before. How was that so?

She brought the dark silken strands of hair back around her shoulder and squeezed the water out. He wanted to know what had caused such scars. Wanted to know more. And he was, he admitted to himself, furious about it. He growled, deep in his throat, stopping only when she froze, quickly sniffing the air and eyes darting around in a way that relayed her panic, her fear. He could smell it on her. His nose flared as he breathed in deeply. The blood running through his veins was hot; pulsing down his body, thickening him.

This was unacceptable. He circled the camp, making sure to come in upwind of her. She was probably still trying to make the mad dash to get her clothes on. He knew he was right when he saw her shoving her white undershirt down over her torso. She froze, blue eyes wide with alarm when she saw him, and then strangely enough, he saw a kind of relief wash over her.

He walked over to the small fire pit that he'd made for them to cook over. The animals he'd skinned on his way back to camp were already on spits fashioned out of tree branches and ready to lay over the fire.

"When we reach our destination tomorrow, we will be meeting with the leader of an underground faction called the Oniwaban. You will give them your complete cooperation, anything less will not be tolerated. They are a dangerous few and do not take lightly their vocation." He looked at her, gauging her reaction. "You will not speak of our previous ventures as it pertains to Sonada-san. You will not mention from where we have been traveling." He flipped the meat over. "This is all you need to know to perform. Follow my instruction and you will stay alive tomorrow."

Her fist was clenched, and her jaw followed the same fashion. Feisty indeed he thought. His interaction with her would be interesting. How far it would go, he could only guess, but it was his intention to keep his distance, and to stay alert.

"I…" She looked up at him. "I... So you won't tell me anything else?"

"…"

"Damnit, I deserve to know what is going on!"

His eyes flashed, and she went still again. "Young Kaoru, do not assume that you have any authority in this situation. You are a tool. One that will be used to my bidding." His voice was cold as winter ice. "I have no patience for the sniveling of the ungrateful. Do you forget who saved you? Who repaired your body? Who, even now protects you from the dangers of this forest? Dwell on the fact that you are still breathing, should this urge to prove your gall come about again."

"…" Her face was turned aside, cheeks a furious red. "I haven't forgotten what you did, you jerk…" She grumbled as she sat down across from him and toed the dirt with her boots.

* * *

After they had eaten their full, they began their walk again, continuing until the sun had past fallen. They stopped at a small patch of treeless earth. She was exhausted, weak with fatigue.

"We will make camp here. Bring me a few dry branches to start the fire."

She did as he asked. Noting that this was the first time he had spoken to her since earlier in the day. That was not to say that he was much of a speaker in the first place.

After they had set up camp, he told her that she had two hours to sleep. Two hours and they would be on the move again; and then, he disappeared into the forest.

Kaoru spread the thin blanket that she had brought over a pile of big leaves that she had placed next to the fire, and fell onto them in a dead sleep. When she next opened her eyes to the dark of night, all that she could do was scream.

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Sorry for the wait! Crazy busy! R&R for the next chapter! Tell me how you liked!

Arigatou,

_G&T_


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